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# Livingston County Historical Society

Preserving Livingston County History

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://livchs.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Pages

- [Home](https://livchs.org/) - Keeping Livingston History Alive We discover, collect, and preserve the natural, industrial, civil, military, political, social, educational, and religious history of Livingston County We offer a variety of services to cultivate a historic sensibility, share knowledge, and bring local history alive. ToursWe oversee the operations of three of Pontiac's most famous historic homes: The Jones
- [What We Do](https://livchs.org/what-we-do) - Our Mission To discover, collect and preserve the natural, industrial, civil, military, political, social, educational or religious history of Livingston County and to maintain a museum and library to cultivate the historic sensibility and share knowledge on those subjects through meetings and publications. What We Do To discover Our Historical Society oversees the operations
- [Home](https://livchs.org/home-2) - Book a table online and get 20% OFF! A catchy statement that supports the title you've mentioned above. Make it attractive and encourage users to act immediately. BOOK YOUR TABLE A bold heading that flaunts quality! People want to know how good you are and how good does your coffee taste. Use this section to
- [Livingston County HCE (Home & Community Education) Group 1918-1968](https://livchs.org/livingston-county-hce-home-community-education-group-1918-1968) - Livingston County HCE (Home & Community Education) Group 1918-1968 This group made a booklet for their 50th Anniversary in 1968. This group was sometimes just called the Home Extension Group. Click Here to View and/or Download a Booklet Copy
- [Pontiac Swinging Bridges](https://livchs.org/pontiac-swinging-bridges) - Pontiac Swinging Bridges Photographs and articles about repairing the swinging bridge from Chautauqua Park to Play Park in Pontiac in 1966.
- [Historical Society Meeting Presentations](https://livchs.org/historical-society-meeting-presentations) - Historical Society Meeting Presentations Dale C. Maley has researched and given over 20 different presentations to the Livingston County Historical Society between 2017 and today. The Powerpoint files used in these presentations were converted to PDF file and uploaded to Archive.Org. You can view and/or download a copy of these presentations using the links
- [Historical Videos](https://livchs.org/historical-videos) - Livingston County Historical Videos Historical Society 100th Anniversary of the Historical Society. The Society decided to have a video professionally made by Paul Garcia Productions to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Historical Society. Genealogy 101. How to search for your Livingston County Illinois ancestors. People Abraham Lincoln's 3 Cases in Pontiac, Illinois. Franklin Oliver
- [Amitytown Painters](https://livchs.org/amitytown-painters) - Amitytown Painters Future Presentation on Amitytown Painters group A 2016 video made by Pontiac Artist Harold Cunningham showing many of the 1,000 paintings he created.
- [Research Resources](https://livchs.org/research-resources) - Historical Research Historical research can be broadly divided into two different categories: Family Genealogy Research: find and document a family tree General Historical Research: general research about a topic or event in history We are open to requests for historical information about Livingston County and other historical research resources via mail, telephone, or email. It is
- [The Strevell House](https://livchs.org/the-strevell-house) - The Strevell House The Strevell House is at 401 W. Livingston in Pontiac, Illinois. Abraham Lincoln visited Pontiac, Illinois, on five separate occasions. Lincoln visited Pontiac twice in 1840 and was the lawyer who represented William Popejoy on his lawsuits with Isaac Wilson. Lincoln was the lawyer in another Pontiac case with County Sheriff Blue
- [The Jones House](https://livchs.org/the-jones-house) - The Jones House The Jones House is at 314 E. Madison Street in Pontiac, Illinois. The Story Behind the Jones House The house was built in 1857 by John Dehner, one of Pontiac's early merchants. The Dehner Family lived in the home until 1879 when it was sold to the Camp Family. In 1883, it
- [Jones House](https://livchs.org/jones-house) - The Jones House The Story Behind the Jones House The house was built in 1857 by John Dehner, one of Pontiac's early merchants. The Dehner Family lived in the home until 1879 when it was sold to the Camp Family. In 1883, it was then sold to Philip Arman. Henry C. Jones, the principle owner
- [Yost House](https://livchs.org/yost-house) - The Yost House The History of The Yost House The Catharine V. Yost Museum is an extraordinary site. Constructed before the turn of the 20th century, the house was owned and occupied by a single family for nearly 100 years. When the last member of the Yost family passed away, the house and everything in it
- [Chatsworth Plaindealer Newspaper](https://livchs.org/chatsworth-plaindealer-newspaper) - Chatsworth Plaindealer Newspaper ****As of December 2025, archive issues of this newspaper are not available due to technical issues. Check with the Chatsworth Area Baltz Library website to see if the issues have been resolved. It appears most of the back issues of the Plaindealer are available from Newspapers.Com, but you must pay a subscription
- [Chatsworth, Illinois, Memories](https://livchs.org/chatsworth-illinois-memories) - Chatsworth, Illinois, Memories For more than 20 years, Mary Beatrice Runyon Hanshew managed and maintained this web site with a lot of very good Chatsworth history information. Unfortunately, she passed away on Sept. 17, 2019. Apparently nobody continued to manage her web site, because it is no longer available. You can use this link to
- [One Dozen Noteworthy Historical Items by Robert Schlosser](https://livchs.org/one-dozen-noteworthy-historical-items-by-robert-schlosser) - One Dozen Noteworthy Historical Items for Livingston County, Illinois, by Robert Schlosser A lot of historical information about Pontiac and Livingston County. You can use this link to access a PDF copy of this document.
- [Inventory of Archives Held by the Livingston County IL Historical Society](https://livchs.org/inventory-of-archives-held-by-the-livingston-county-il-historical-society) - Inventory of Archive Collection of the Livingston County IL Historical Society A couple years ago, we inventoried all the items held in our collection. We assigned each item an inventory number and entered them into an Excel spreadsheet. As new items are donated and added to the collection, we update the Excel spreadsheet. Anyone is
- [Country School Names & Maps](https://livchs.org/country-school-names-maps) - Country School Names & Maps Here is a link to the names of all 299 country schools in Livingston County and where they were located. Information came from Lucille Goodrich's 1979 book about Livingston County school History.
- [Fairbury History Information](https://livchs.org/no-title) - Fairbury History You can discover many sources for Fairbury-related historical information using the web page of the Fairbury Echoes Museum. You can click on this link to visit the home page of the Fairbury Echoes Museum.
- [Modern Livingston County History Books by Dale C. Maley](https://livchs.org/modern-livingston-county-history-books) - Modern Livingston County History Books by Dale C. Maley History Books Written by Dale C. Maley Mr. Maley has written over 25 different books about Fairbury and Livingston County history. Often these books utilized materials and information from the Fairbury Echoes Museum. Museum Board members Diane Pawlowski, Carl Borngasser, and Ron Schlipf also assisted in
- [Impact of Glaciers on Livingston County](https://livchs.org/impact-of-glaciers-on-livingston-county) - Impact of Glaciers on Livingston County In 1936 and 1963, the Illinois State Geological Survey conducted automobile tours of the Pontiac, Illinois area for high school science teachers or the general public. Moraines and glacial lakes were pointed out on the tour. Click on this link to view and/or download copies of the programs from
- [100th Anniversary Video](https://livchs.org/100th-anniversary-video) - 100th Anniversary Video made in 2024 The Society decided to have a video professionally made by Paul Garcia Productions to celebrate our 100th Anniversary. Click Here to watch our 100th Anniversary video.
- [Join the Society](https://livchs.org/join-the-society) - We are always looking for new members to join the Livingston County Historical Society. Society meetings are used to educate members and the general public about Livingston County history. We are a fun group who is passionate about local history and dedicated to preserving it. Society members can learn and contribute to preserving Livingston County
- [Modern Livingston County History Books by J. William Goold](https://livchs.org/modern-livingston-county-history-books-copy) - Modern Livingston County History Books by J. William Goold Bill Goold is a native of Fairbury, Illinois. Mr. Goold has researched and written two books that include history related to Livingston County. The author, Bill Goold, would like to note these two documents are technically not books, they are unpublished manuscripts. 1st Book by J.
- [Contact Us](https://livchs.org/contact) - Contact Us The best way to contact us is by email. Click Here to email the Historical Society If you click on the button above to send us an email, and it does not work for some reason....You can send an email to Dalemaley@Gmail.com. You can also telephone us at 815-692-6633. Leave a message if
- [Pantagraph Negatives](https://livchs.org/pantagraph-negatives) - Pantagraph Negatives Around 2022, the Pantagraph started sending their old photographic negatives to the McLean County Museum of History. That museum is slowly having all of the negatives digitized and then posted to a web site where anyone can view or download them. For an explanation of this massive project, you can use this link to
- [National Register of Historic Places](https://livchs.org/national-register-of-historic-places) - National Register of Historic Places The Livingston County Historical Society has two houses listed on the National Register. The Jones House The Jones House was added to the National Register in 1978. Once a house is approved, the application becomes public information. You can click on the link below to get a PDF copy
- [Current Stories](https://livchs.org/current-stories) - Current Stories.... 2023 Society Newletter You can read a copy of this newsletter using this link. Reprint of 1985 J. Paul Yost book on the history of the Livingston County Historical Society In 1985, J. Paul Yost published a book about the history of the Livingston County Historical Society. The book includes some fascinating history
- [Sanborn Insurance Maps](https://livchs.org/sanborn-insurance-maps) - Sanborn Insurance Maps The Sanborn Insurance Company made maps of many towns in Livingston County. In our area, they typically start in the 1880s and end in the 1920s. These maps can be helpful when doing historical research in Livingston County. These maps are available from several sources online for free for viewing or downloading.
- [Society Artifact Collection and Books](https://livchs.org/society-artifact-collection-and-books) - Society Artifact Collection and Books The Society maintains an artifact collection including Livingston County history books. Many of the history books have been digitized and can be downloaded and word searched for free. The inventory is tracked using an Excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet was converted to a PDF file in January of 2024. You are
- [Rare Documents](https://livchs.org/rare-documents) - Rare Documents As we become aware of relatively rare documents associated with Livingston County history, we scan these documents. The scanned file is then upload to Archive.Org for permanent storage. Anyone can access these rare documents free of charge, and download copies if they wish. You can view all of these documents by using the
- [Pontiac Daily Leader Archives](https://livchs.org/pontiac-daily-leader-archives) - Pontiac Daily Leader Archives Unfortunately, the Pontiac Daily Leader has not yet been fully digitized. The website GenealogyBank.com requires an annual subscription fee to access the archived articles. This website has archived copies of the Daily Leader from 1958 to 1970. The website Ancestry.com requires an annual subscription fee to access the archived newspaper articles.
- [Fairbury Blade Archives](https://livchs.org/fairbury-blade-archives) - Fairbury Blade Archives One of the most important resources for performing Fairbury history research is the Blade newspaper. For many years, copies of the Blade were sent to institutions like the University of Illinois where they were scanned and put on reels of microfilm. These reels of microfilm were stored at the Dominy Library and
- [Livingston County Poor Farm](https://livchs.org/livingston-county-poor-farm) - Livingston County Poor Farm The Livingston County Poor Farm was eventually turned into a nursing home. The nursing home was torn down a few years ago. Someone donated some records from the Poor Farm including the original patient Register Book. The Register includes a lot of data about each person who spent time at the
- [Volunteer](https://livchs.org/volunteer) - Help Preserve Livingston County History There are many ways that individuals, organizations, foundations, and corporate partners can support the Livingston County Historical Society. Become a Society member. Volunteer your time maintaining or managing one of our three historic homes. Volunteer your time to help sort and manage our artifact collection. Present historical information at a
- [Join Our Mailing List](https://livchs.org/join-our-mailing-list) - Join Our Mailing List! To join the Livingston County Historical Society email list, simply send us an email and request that you be added. Through our mailing list, you will be kept up to date on Society meetings, events, and other news. Click Here to Email us.
- [Help Preserve Livingston County History](https://livchs.org/help-preserve-livingston-county-history) - Thank you for your support! Your support is critical to helping us achieve our mission to discover and preserve local history and make it available to anyone who wishes to view it, free of charge. Thank you for your continued interest, support, and donations. We invite you to join our community by becoming a donor
- [Other Livingston County Museums](https://livchs.org/other-livingston-county-museums) - Other Livingston County Museums While the Livingston County Historical Society maintains and preserves many historical sites, there are several other local history museums in our area. Chenoa Historical Society Museum Open 1-3 pm on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The museum does not have an active web site. For more information, call 815-945-5163. Cornell – Amity Township
- [Chief Pontiac Memorial](https://livchs.org/chief-pontiac-memorial) - Chief Pontiac Memorial One of our society's first significant accomplishments was the design, creation, and placement of a memorial dedicated to honoring the City of Pontiac's namesake. On Saturday, September 29, 1936, an arrowhead shaped monument was unveiled on the grounds of the Livingston County Court House. The memorial is dedicated to the famous Ottawa war chief,
- [Classic Livingston County History Books](https://livchs.org/classic-livingston-county-history-books) - Classic Livingston County History Books There are four classic Livingston County history books. These are commonly referred to as the 1878, 1888, 1900, and 1909 Volume 2 history books. Three of the books (1878, 1888, 1909 Volume 2) have been digitized and are in word searchable PDF files. The 1900 book has been digitized and
- [Livingston County History Books](https://livchs.org/livingston-county-history-books) - Download "The History of Livingston County, Illinois" (1878) Download "Portrait and Biographical Album of Livingston County" (1888) Click Here Download "Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Livingston County, Vol. 2" (1909) Livingston County Historical Books All three of these books about Livingston County's history have been digitized and are word searchable PDF files. These books
- [Jason Strevell House](https://livchs.org/jason-strevell-house) - The Strevell House - Opened Summer 2018 Among the many connections Pontiac has to Abraham Lincoln, one of the most interesting revolves around Lincoln’s friendship with local attorney, Jason W. Strevell. Strevell was born in New York and moved to Illinois in 1855. He was admitted to the Illinois bar that same year and began
- [More Information About the Jones House](https://livchs.org/more-information-about-the-jones-house) - 1983 Pantagraph Update on the House Restoration 2023 Update on Thelma Asper's Contributions to the Jones House Restoration
- [2023 Update on Thelma Asper’s Contributions to the Jones House Restoration](https://livchs.org/2023-update-on-thelma-aspers-contributions-to-the-jones-house-restoration) - July 8, 2023 By: David Asper and Linda Gruber Jones House Carriage Drive Iron Gates Get Recognition -- Local Family Contributions The restoration of the Jones House and property has been a labor of love for many, many committee chairs, co-chairs, artisans, and donors. Finally, during summer 2023, a historical plaque was placed giving recognition
- [1983 Pantagraph Update on the House Restoration](https://livchs.org/1983-pantagraph-update-on-the-house-restoration) - The Pantagraph November 23, 1983 Jones House Shaping Up By: Terrie Joplin PONTIAC — Seven years have passed since the home was purchased and the owners have yet to polish the antique furniture, relax in a rocking chair in the sitting room, or pull the handmade quilts over plump, down-filled pillows. But the owners are
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- [Historical Research](https://livchs.org/historical-research)
- [About Us](https://livchs.org/about-us)
- [Research Types](https://livchs.org/research-types) - Research Types Historical Research Historical research can be broadly divided into two different categories: Family Genealogy Research General Historical Research Many people want to research and document their family tree. This falls under the category of family genealogy research. Other people want to perform general historical research about a topic.
- [Livingston County Courthouse Museum](https://livchs.org/livingston-county-courthouse-museum) - Livingston County Historical Society’s Local History Exhibit The Livingston County Historical Society protects and preserves our local history. The Society maintains a small exhibit inside the Livingston County Courthouse. On display are artifacts dating back to prehistoric times, as well as many items from Native-American cultures that inhabited the area, and items representative of the
- [Our Founding](https://livchs.org/founding) - Our History According to Livingston County Historical Society: Its Beginning and Some Later Years by J. Paul Yost, published in 1985, the origins of the society can be found at a Kiwanis Club meeting that took place on September 25, 1924. At that meeting a presentation was given on early Native American history in Livingston County.
- [1924 Henry Mies Speech](https://livchs.org/1924-henry-mies-speech) - 1924 Henry Mies Speech BULLETIN NO. 1 OF The Livingston County Historical Association - March 5, 1925 Published and Distributed by the KIWANIS CLUB OF PONTIAC FOREWORD At a meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Pontiac in November the following paper on the Indian life, habits and history of this region was read by Kiwanian
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